City Flag

Description of current flag:
The flag's ratio is 3:5. It is a green over yellow horizontal bicolour.
Source: Veddeler 2003, p.493
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 29 Jul 2010

Flag in Use

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 29 Jul 2010

Description of flag in use:
The ratio is approx 2:1. It is a green - yellow vertical bicolour with the coat of arms in its centre. The mural crown of the coat of arms is placed upon a white rectangle. The shades of the colours according the city's archive HKS 64N (green) und HKS 5N (golden/yellow)
Source: city's website(frontpage)
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 29 Jul 2010

Coat of Arms

Description of coat of arms:
In a green field is a golden(=yellow), ascending, embattled wall having an open gate. In the gate stands an upright, golden(=yellow) key. Above the wall is a church building of the same colour having a bigger central tower with a triangular roof and two side towers with onion shaped roofs. The shield is topped by a mural crown, which is golden according Veddeler 2003, who quotes a proposal of the arms in Hauptsatzung of the city of Recklinghausen, §2(3). Veddeler is however equivoced. It is important that the colour of the mural crown is different. According to Stadt- und Vestisches Archiv Recklinghausen the colour of the mural crown is ochre, an orangy brown. Only the closed gate of the mural crown is golden(=yellow).
Meaning:
According to source the arms are based upon the oldest main seal of the city from 1253. The key is an attribute of St.Peter, the patron of the archbishopric and electorate of Köln, to which the territory of the Vest Recklinghausen belonged until the archbishopric was dissolved by French emperor Napoleon I. The colours of the flag are said to be traditional not having any special meaning. According to Stadler 1972 the mural crown had been abolished later on. This information was reconfirmed by the head of Stadt- und Vestisches Archiv Recklinghausen; Dr. Matthias Kordes. He wrote to me, that the mural crown was abolished in 1940 under NS-rule, when mural crowns were dismissed as "welsh ornaments", a relic of French occupation in the era of Napoleon (although in this case the ornament was approved much later by Prussian Heroldsamt in 1908, adopted by the city itself in 1907). The colour of the mural crown in the approval was denoted as "sandsteinfarben", the colour of sedimentit, which is a reddish brown. Thanks to Fachbereich Steuerung und Service der Stadt Recklinghausen, Stadt- und Vestisches Archiv Recklinghausen, especially to Dr. Matthias Kordes.
Source: Veddeler 2003, p.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 29 Jul 2010

The coat of arms was granted on 3 June 1908 by Prussian king, who also reconfirmed the colours of the flag on the same day.
Source: flyer entitled: : "Stadtwappen Recklinghausen" published by Öffentlichkeitsarbeit Recklinghausen